Receptacle



Patented Oct. 30, 1951 "UNITED STAT-ES PATENT OFFICE Application october18, 1946; Serial'No. 703,960

11 Claims. 1

This invention relates to receptacles-of the type adapted for thestorage and dispensing of a large variety of articles. It is especiallywell adapted for use in connection with small drills, sewing needles,phonograph needles and other articles having sharpened ends whichrequire protection.

The structure contemplated is particularly characterized by itssimplicity,minimum number of parts, low production costs and thefacility with which accurate indexing can be accomplished.

In general, the receptacle comprises a "body "containing a plurality ofradial pockets which are accessible from the periphery of the body,

a cover pivotally mounted with respect to the body, the cover having askirt depending therefrom for closing the ends of the pockets, theskirt, containing an opening for selective registry with the ends of thepockets. In order to protect the sharpened ends or tips-of'the articles'to'be housed in the receptacle, the pockets may have their convergentportions reduced to prevent the articles from bottoming therein. Thesepockets are preferably in the'form of stepped grooves opening to onesurface of the body-and at the periphery thereof. "The body'may bemolded from a suitable plastic composition to provide a central apertureand stepped to provide 'a hub portion, an annular portion, and a lowerflange at its periphery. The grooves or .pockets are preferably providedin the 'hub' and annular portions to define the magazine, being steppedto provide narrower or reduced portions *of the grooves or pockets inthe hub portion of the body. The upper surface of the.'body.may beprovided "with a boss for registry with an annular index element orcover sheet which is adhesively secured to the body by means of'asuitable adhesive received in shallow recesses or depressions formed inthe upper surface of the body. Such a cover'sheet will serveto'partially close the grooves or pockets and 'will preferably bearindicia to indicate the size of :the article contained in each suchgroove or pocket.

The lower peripheral flange of the body may be provided with integralprojections between each pair of pockets for cooperation with a notch orother detent arrangement provided in the skirt of the cover. The coveris preferably molded from a thermoplastic material =such'as a vinylresin or cellulose acetate, having integral therewith a central pinproviding a pivot received in the central aperture of the body. When thecover has been assembled "upon "the body,

the end of "the pin .can be expanded by lightly touchingit with a heatedtool, whereupon the .parts'willbe assembled ready for shipment. The edge:of'the cover-from which'the skirtdepends is preferably roughenedby'means of fluting or the like'to 'facilitate its: rotation withrespect to the body. This roughened edge will ordinarily be graspedbyone hand of the user, while the peripheral flange of the body, whichprojects slightly beyond the skirt, of the cover, will be held in'theother hand, permitting theropening in the cover to be brought intoregistry-with the end-of any of the pockets from WhlGhiltlS desired toextract a-drill or other-article or into whichit is desired toreturnsuch an article. "To "facilitate registry 'of the opening intthe skirtof the cover with the end of 2a paticular pocket, a .line oran arrow maybe formed on theupper surface of the cover so that when it registers"with'the indicia carried by the index element corresponding to thearticleto be withdrawn'or returned the "opening will be in registry withthe proper pocket.

Thus it will be'seenthat inaccordance with the present "invention .apractical, inexpensive and useful article has been produced, utilizing-aminimum'number of parts.

A more completeunderstanding of the invention willjfollow from 'armoredetailed description "based upon the'accompanying drawing wherein:

Fig. .1 is an exploded view showing the elements prior to. assembly;

,Eig. 2:is-iaplanyof theassembled receptacle; and

Fig. :3 ,isa section-takenwalong lines 33 of Fig.2.

The-body I ll ispreferably molded from 'a thermoplastic :orthermosetting composition to define a "stepped structure having a hubportion 'i2,an annular portion l4, and a lower 'peripheral flange IS.with aplurality of pockets, or grooves I8 opening at its periphery andextending with a reduced :width into the hub portion to converge towardsan'aperture -20 located centrally of the body. The reduced portions 22of the pockets or grooves are stepped with respect to the peripheralportions at the juncture of the hub portion and annular portion of thebody member. 'On the upper surface of the peripheral 'flange l6,intermediate the ends of the pockets, projections 24 are provided toreleasably retain the cover 2-6 in certain adjusted positions. A boss-28 formed on'the-upper surface of the annular portion of the-bodybetween a pair of the grooves l B'serves toregister with a, perforation55 "3t! formed in the in'dex element-=01- cover sheet The annularportion is provided 32 which is adhesively secured to the annularportion of the body by means of adhesive 34 received in a suitablenumber of recesses or depressions 36 formed in the upper surface of theannular portion of the body intermediate certain of its grooves.

The index element or cover sheet 32 may be formed annularly from paperor other suitable sheet material and have imprinted upon its uppersurface, suitable indicia 38 caused to register with the respectivegrooves or pockets by means of the boss or locating pin 28 whichpenetrates the perforation 30 provided in the annulus. The centralopening 40 of the annulus receives the hub portion l2 of the body, andby virtue of the adhesive receiving recesses 36, lies substantially flatupon the annular portion l4 of the body.

The cover 26 is preferably formed from a thermoplastic composition suchas a vinyl resin or cellulose acetate and has integral therewith a pin42 of similar composition whose end is provided with an opening 44 toreceive the end of a heated expanding tool used in the assembly of thecover upon the body. The upper edge 46 of the cover is fluted orotherwise roughened to provide a hand hold to facilitate rotation of thecover with respect to the body. Depending from this edge, the cover isprovided with a skirt 48 whose lower edge is received by the uppersurface of the peripheral flange l6 when the parts have been assembled.A port or opening 50 is provided in the skirt for selective registrationwith the peripheral or outer ends of the pockets or grooves l8 forextraction or return of an article for which the receptacle is intended.A distinctive line or arrow 52 is suitably applied so as to be visiblefrom the upper surface of the cover, which being preferably transparent,can receive the inscription on either its upper or lower surface. Thisarrow has been shown as broken so as not to obscure the indicia 38presented by the index element 32. By arranging the axis of the arrowalong the same radius on which the opening 50 is formed, registry of thearrow with a given numeral on the index element occurs when the opening50 registers with the corresponding groove or pocket. Diametricallyopposite the opening 50, the lower edge of the skirt 48 has beenprovided with a notch 54 for cooperation with the projections 24 formedon the body flange to constitute detent means for holding the opening 50out of registry with the pockets or grooves I 8 when the receptacle isnot in use to avoid accidental loss of the articles contained. By virtueof the resilient nature of the cover imparted by the compositionscontemplated, when the notch 54 is moved to a position overlying one ofthe projections 24, the parts will be restrained from further accidentalmovement.

To assemble the parts of the receptacle, adhesive will be introducedinto the recesses 36, the index element 32 will be pressed upon theannular portion [4 with its perforation 30 receiving the boss orlocating pin 28, whereupon the cover will be applied with its centralpin 42 extending into the aperture 20, and a heated tool will be appliedfrom the bottom of the body to the opening 44 of the pin to expand it tosomewhat the form depicted in Fig. 3 of the drawing.

Where the receptacle is employed in connection with drills or otherarticles having a shoulder or tapered configuration, it will be clearthat by properly designing the relative lengths of the reduced andenlarged portions of the grooves or pockets, the sharpened tips of thearticles will be prevented from bottoming against the body so that underall circumstances injury to the sharpened portions will be avoided.

Moreover, the relative widths and heights of the grooves l8 and theirreduced portions 22, having been properly dimensioned to therequirements of the drills or other elements to be contained, willprevent the peripheral portions of the sharpened or cutting ends fromengaging the cover or walls of the reduced portions of the grooves, thuseliminating any of the dulling effects so commonly encountered inreceptacles of known types.

Whereas but one form of the invention has been depicted in the drawingsand described in the foregoing specification, variations andmodifications within the scope of the appended claims are contemplated.

I claim:

1. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of radialpockets intermediately stepped to define reduced convergent portions,said pockets being accessible from the periphery of said body, a coverpivotally mounted with respect to said body, and a skirt depending fromsaid cover for closing the peripheral ends of said pockets, said skirtcontaining an opening for selective registry with the peripheral ends ofsaid pockets.

2. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of radialgrooves accessible from the periphery of said body, a cover pivotallymounted with respect to said body, a skirt depending from said cover forclosing the ends of said grooves, said skirt containing an opening forselective registry with the ends of said grooves, and an index elementinterposed between said cover and body defining a wall overlying andpartially closing said grooves.

3. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of radialgrooves accessible from the periphery of saidbody, a cover pivotallymounted with respect to said body, a skirt depending from said cover forclosing the ends of said grooves, said skirt containing an opening forselective registry with the ends of said grooves, and an annulusinterposed between said cover and body overlying and partially closingsaid grooves.

4. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of radialpockets accessible from the periphery of said body, a transparent coverpivotally mounted with respect to said body, a skirt depending from saidcover for closing the ends of said pockets, said skirt containing anopening for selective registry with the ends of said pockets, locatingindicia carried by said cover, and indicia carried by said body remotefrom said opening and visible through said cover for establishing theposition of said opening.

5. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of steppedradial pockets accessible from the periphery of said body, a coverhaving a roughened edge pivotally mounted with respect to said body, anda skirt depending from the roughened edge of said cover for closing theends of said pockets, said skirt containing an opening for selectiveregistry with the ends of said pockets.

6. A receptacle comprising a molded unitary body containing a pluralityof radial pockets accessible from the periphery of said body, said bodyhaving steps defining a hub, a magazine and a flange, a cover for saidmagazine pivotally mounted at the hub of said body, and a skirtdepending from said cover to said flange for closing the ends of saidpockets, said skirt containing an opening for selective registry withthe ends of said pockets.

7. A receptacle comprising a body provided with a boss and containing aplurality of radial pockets accessible from the periphery of said body,a cover pivotally mounted with respect to said body, a skirt dependingfrom said cover for closing the ends of said pockets, said skirtcontaining an opening for selective registry with the ends of saidpockets, and an annulus interposed between said body and cover having aperforation registering with said boss.

8. A receptacle comprising a body containing a recess and a plurality ofradial pockets accessible from the periphery of said body, a coverpivotally mounted with respect to said body, a skirt depending from saidcover for closing the ends of said pockets, said skirt containing anopening for selective registry with the ends of said pockets, and acover sheet partially closing said pockets interposed between said bodyand cover and retained in position on said body by an adhesive locatedin said recess.

9. A receptacle comprising a body having a hub portion and an annularportion containing a plurality of stepped radial pockets accessible fromthe periphery of said body, said pockets being narrower in said hubportion than in said annular portion, a cover pivotally mounted withrespect to said body, and a skirt depending from said cover for closingthe ends of said pockets, said skirt containing an opening for selectiveregistry with the ends of said pockets.

10. A receptacle for slender articles having sharpened tips comprising abody containing a plurality of radial pockets accessible from theperiphery of said body, said pockets having stepped reduced inner endsto receive said tips, a cover pivotally mounted with respect to saidbody, a skirt depending from said cover for closing the outer ends ofsaid pockets, said skirt containing an opening for selective registrywith the outer ends of said pockets.

11. A receptacle comprising a body containing a plurality of radialpockets accessible from the periphery of said body, a cover pivotallymounted with respect to said body, a skirt depending from said cover forclosing the ends of said pockets, said skirt containing an opening forselective registry with the ends of said pockets, and cooperatingindicia carried by said body and cover remote from said openingindicating the relative position of said opening with respect to saidpockets.

JOHN A. CUPLER, II.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 992,336 Burrows May 16, 19111,412,943 Kennedy Apr. 18, 1922 1,680,130 Conner Aug. 7, 1928 2,236,224Raschkind Mar. 25, 1941 2,475,450 Dvorak July 5, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTSNumber Country Date 228,642 Great Britain Feb. 10, 1945

